A SON’S THREAT

IT WAS rare for Nikolai's parents to be home during a weekend, but they must have been eager to know whether he had finally filed a divorce or not.

When he arrived at his parents' house, it was already lunchtime.

A feast was prepared in the dining hall.

Moreover, his parents both looked like they were in a good mood despite having stoic faces.

[I've yearned for their love and approval for almost half my life. Hence, I've walked on eggshells around them– learning to read their moods so I wouldn't get in trouble with them.]

It was pathetic, really.

He was glad that he had finally gotten out of that toxic yearning.

[And it's all thanks to Mona who taught me to love myself first.]

"So, how did it go?" his father asked while a maid was pouring wine into his glass. "Did you finally file a divorce?"

"Your ex-wife is lucky that we sent you abroad for four years," his mother said while cutting a bite of her steak with a fork and knife. "If not for that, you would have divorced her sooner."

Ah, that was right.

His parents sent him to the UK to study again so he wouldn't be an "embarrassment" to the family. Then, as soon as he returned to Korea, he resumed his job as a director in the Moonasterion Electronics– which was his position before he got into an accident– for half a year before he was promoted to president.

Of course, a chaebol like him would easily climb up the ladder of success since their family owned most shares in the Moonasterion Group. He was also the only son of the chairman, hence nobody could really complain– especially since he had shown nothing but excellent results before and after his accident.

[That's what being a chaebol means, after all.]

"I haven't filed for divorce, Abeoji, Eomma," Nikolai said, putting down his fork and knife on either side of his plate. "Mona and I won't divorce."

His father slammed his hand on the table angrily. "What did you say?!"

"Did that wench refuse to divorce you?" his mother asked, frowning. "Did she demand more money and compensation? That greedy bitch!"

"Eomma, don't speak ill of my wife," Nikolai said sternly. "You know Mona isn't that kind of woman."

"Your "wife?"" his mother asked in disbelief. Then she gasped out loud. "Nikolai, have your memories returned?"

As expected of his quick-witted mother.

"That's right, Eomma," Nikolai confirmed while nodding. "I've finally regained my memories."

"So what?!" his father asked, yelling again. "Do you want to get back with your wife?!"

For someone who was about to reach his senior age, his father was sure lively.

"I'm going to fix my marriage and become family with Mona and our twins again," Nikolai said, then he warned his parents. "Please don't get in the way this time. You've already ruined my family once– I won't stay still this time if you touch Mona and Neoma."

"How dare you threaten your parents?" his mother scolded him, obviously upset. "Do you not care about your position within the company?"

"I can always disown you, so don't act arrogant with me," his father said firmly. "Are you willing to lose everything just for a woman?"

He knew why his parents were this insistent about getting rid of Mona.

It was because his father and his mother wanted to be acquainted with the Lennox Group by marrying him off to the Lennox Group's heiress.

[And that heiress is Juliet Hwang, my fiancée in the future where I have come from.]

In that future, the talk about his marriage with the heiress fell through around this time because Juliet Hwang's husband refused to divorce her.

[Yes, Juliet Hwang is still married to her estranged husband around this time.]

And if he remembered it correctly, Juliet's fight with her estranged husband would be a long and dirty battle. That was why in the future, he only got engaged to Juliet three years later after his divorce from Mona.

"Abeoji, if you take everything from me, then I'll do the same to you," Nikolai threatened his father. "Do you want to spend your upcoming 60th birthday in prison?"

Needless to say, his father looked shocked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll send you to prison for tax evasion and embezzlement if you mess with me and my family, Abeoji," Nikolai threatened his father sternly. "Should I also leak the fact that you bribed the president of our country to the media? The reporters will have a field day then."

His father's face turned red in anger. "How dare you to threaten me, you ungrateful bastard? Who do you think you are?!"

"Who am I?" Nikolai asked, then he smirked. "Who else but the Crown Prince of the Moonasterion Group, Abeoji? You're the one who put the crown on my head."

His father was obviously seething, but he said nothing this time.

"And it was a mistake to name you as your father's successor," his mother said bitterly. "Do you think we'll let you do whatever you want just because of your threat?"

"Then try me, Eomma," Nikolai challenged his mother. "If you cross the line, the names of the A-list actors and top male idols that you sponsor will make a headline tomorrow. Can you afford to get in a scandal when you just opened a new luxury department store that your current "boyfriend" endorses?"

His father didn't react at all.

It was an open secret that his mother had several affairs with the actors and male idols that she sponsored anyway.

[And Abeoji couldn't say anything because he does the same thing.]

His parents just made a silent agreement to hide their illicit affairs and not get caught by the media.

Usually, scandals involving chaebols wouldn't get published by major media outlets.

But it would be a different matter if the Crown Prince of the Moonasterion Group leaked the scandal himself.

Hence, his parents couldn't talk back this time.

"If you understand, then please leave my family alone, Abeoji, Eomma," Nikolai said, then he stood up and smiled at his parents. "Enjoy the rest of your lunch, my dear parents."

***

"YOU'RE here, Abeoji?"

Ah.

Nikolai felt a pang in his chest when he remembered that around this time, Nero stopped called him 'appa.'

'Abeoji' sounded distant to him since that was how he addressed his own father.

"Nero, you can call me 'appa' again," Nikolai said when he approached his son who greeted him at the door of the penthouse where the two of them lived. "You're still a baby, after all."

His son looked horrified by what he said.

"Abeoji, I'm already sixteen," Nero reminded him. "And I'll turn seventeen and become a high school student in a couple of months."

Right.

[We've spent so many years being apart from Mona and Neoma.]

"Nero," Nikolai said, then he put his hands on his son's shoulders. "My memories have already returned."

Nero gasped, his eyes opening wide a bit. "Really, Abeoji?"

He nodded in response. "That's why I made a decision, Nero. Let's become family with your mother and twin sister again."

"Will grandmother and grandfather allow us to do that, Abeoji? They're not fond of Eomma and Neoma."

"Does it matter? We don't need your grandparents' approval to be a family again."

"But what if grandmother and grandfather disowned you, Abeoji?"

He knitted his eyebrows, confused by why his son suddenly brought that up. "Why are you worried about that, Nero?"

"Abeoji, you're the Crown Prince of the Moonasterion Group and that makes me the Crown Prince of my school," Nero said, tilting his head to one side. "But if you get disowned, then I'll also lose my status."

Nikolai was shocked to hear that from his son. "Son, is your status more important than our family?"

***

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